Everything
by Ang1
Summary: Max panics when Logan's hand slides into hers at the end of FN. MA fic.
1. max

I feel Logan's gloved hand slide into mine as Dix and Luke raise the flag and glance at Alec in a panic.  
  
"Are you sure?" he whispers just below human hearing.  
  
I nod, and he grins, moving behind me to wrap his arms around my waist. I lean into him and pull my hand out of Logan's to grasp Alec lightly. "Thanks." I whisper.  
  
"Anytime Maxie, anytime." He mutters into my ear, and then looks around. "Alright people. Let's get organized. I need a head count, and a list of specializations. Try to make sure people understand we want them doing what they enjoy – not what Manticore thought they were best at. Report back on progress in two hours at Command."  
  
The assembled group disperses, and I settle further into Alec's embrace, enjoying the warmth. Logan turns to us. "You can't just treat them like that Alec. Max, tell him he can't do that."  
  
I sigh. "I'm not a CO Logan. I have no idea what's involved in a siege. Alec knows what to do, and we all trust him."  
  
"You're the chosen one Max, you should be in charge!"  
  
"No, I shouldn't. I don't even know what being the chosen one means Logan. And I most certainly don't know how to run a city."  
  
"But Max –  
  
"Logan, if you're going to disrupt my leadership, I'll have you taken out of Terminal City on the first supply run. Max and I discussed this earlier today." Alec cuts in. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have some intel to sort through before the reports in two hours." He releases his hold on me, and guides me back inside.  
  
When we step inside, I stop him at the top of the stairs. "Thank you Alec."  
  
He smiles crookedly. "So, you trust me huh?"  
  
I grin, and finger his jacket. "With my life." I say, meeting his hazel eyes. "And with everyone else's too, so you'd better be careful." I add.  
  
"When am I not?"  
  
I reach up to touch his injured shoulder. "Do really want the answer to that?"  
  
"I blame this entirely on Normal." He deadpans. "You know they can't stay, right?"  
  
I nod. "I'm going to miss OC."  
  
"But not Sketchy and Logan?" he puts his arm around my shoulders and we head down the stairs.  
  
"Maybe Sketchy." I laugh a bit at his expression. "Logan doesn't get that he doesn't belong here."  
  
"He will soon enough. I have to send them with the first run in the morning."  
  
"I know." We enter the room serving as command and he grabs a few files. "This is the most recent tactical we have on the perimeter."  
  
I glance at it. "Wouldn't 'it's a mess' cover it?" I ask, looking at the jumble of notes the X6s made.  
  
He laughs. "Probably, but with this I can assign units to repair the damage and reinforce the strongholds we have without spreading too thin."  
  
"Right." I pause. "See, this is why you're in command, and I'm just the chosen one." I deadpan, looking at the mass of blueprints and files with confusion.  
  
He looks up at me from the blueprints. "I need to know what it was that changed your mind about me."  
  
I look at him in shock. "I suppose you want the truth, huh?"  
  
"We agreed no lies after...  
  
"I know."  
  
"So, yeah, the truth would be nice."  
  
I sigh lightly, and lean against the table. "The night Rachel died." I say softly.  
  
His eyes widen. "That was –  
  
"Months ago. I know." I pause. "It was that night that I realized you weren't Manticore. You weren't Ben's twin, well, okay, you're still that, but that was the first time I saw you as just that. You."  
  
He tilts his head. "But, after that night..." he trails off.  
  
"I'd already been cutting you for so long I didn't know where to stop...how to stop. And then you were in that cage again, and I forgot it was Mia's fault. I was angry."  
  
"You showed it."  
  
"Let me finish." I pause. "I was angry, and I let that anger take over. Then, the night I told Logan we were..."  
  
"Dating?"  
  
"It wasn't me who said it. He saw you leaving my place after crashing there when I got you out of jail. He jumped to conclusions, and when he called me on it, all I could think was 'would it really be so bad?'. I could do worse."  
  
He locks eyes with me. "Could you do better?"  
  
I shiver at the way his gaze cuts through me. "I doubt it." I whisper. "Once you get past that rough exterior, you really are an amazing man Alec."  
  
He stands up and touches my face lightly. "Who would've ever guessed? Maxie finally saw the light."  
  
I lean into the touch a bit. "No one ever said I was good at this."  
  
He moves closer. "And just what is this?" he asks softly.  
  
I close my eyes and reach out to touch his chest. "Everything." I whisper, and feel his lips capture mine softly. 


	2. alec

When I see him take her hand, I can't help but smirk. She's really in the shit this time. She dug a hole and – I glance at her and feel her pleading with me to do something to make him stop. Now why would I go and do that? I raise an eyebrow at her and her look changes from pleading to panic. Dammit. I can't say no to her. Never could. That's why. I move slowly behind her and whisper softly into her ear. "Are you sure?"  
  
Just say no. Just say 'no Alec, let's drop this silly charade and be grown- ups about this whole situation.' Not that I would mind, it's just that – she's nodding. I grin a bit, just because I get to stick it to him, and wrap my arms around her from behind.  
  
Then she leans into me. "Thanks." Her soft voice whispers.  
  
She thanked me.  
  
Me, Alec, perpetual screwup in her life. Never mind that this morning we talked extensively about her insecurities about leading an ever-growing group of people who've been soldiers their entire lives. Never mind that she finally realized what I was trained to do. She's never thanked me for anything. "Anytime, Maxie, anytime." I whisper into her ears. Glancing around, I can see the rest of the command team sort of hanging around aimlessly. I straighten my stance a bit, never letting go of her. "Alright people. Let's get organized. I need a head count, and a list of specializations. Try to make sure people understand we want them doing what they enjoy – not what Manticore thought they were best at. Report back on progress in two hours at Command."  
  
They barely remember not to salute me as they disperse. I feel Max move closer to me, and I feel myself tighten my hold around her. I'm about to lose myself in the embrace when Logan's voice cuts through at me.  
  
"You can't just treat them like that Alec. Max, tell him he can't do that."  
  
I'm about to respond when I feel Max tense. "I'm not a CO Logan. I have no idea what's involved in a siege. Alec knows what to do, and we all trust him."  
  
She does? When did this happen?  
  
"You're the chosen one Max, you should be in charge!" he shouts, pointing angrily at me.  
  
"No, I shouldn't. I don't even know what being the chosen one means Logan. And I most certainly don't know how to run a city."  
  
I can't believe this. She's defending me to him.  
  
"But Max –  
  
"Logan, if you're going to disrupt my leadership, I'll have you taken out of Terminal City on the first supply run. Max and I discussed this earlier today. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have some intel to sort through before the reports in two hours." I release my hold on her and guide her into the stairwell that leads back into command.  
  
"Thank you Alec." She says, effectively stopping me in my tracks at the top of the stairs.  
  
"So, you trust me huh?" I try to joke with her, to lighten the mood.  
  
She reaches out and touches my jacket, meeting my eyes. "With my life. And with everyone else's too, so you'd better be careful." She smiles softly.  
  
"When am I not?" Don't answer that Max, just don't answer that.  
  
Her hand moves to my shoulder, and she lays it flat over where the bandage is. "Do really want the answer to that?"  
  
"I blame this entirely on Normal." I say flatly, stunned by the worry in her eyes. Change the subject, just change the subject. "You know they can't stay, right?" Very good.  
  
"I'm going to miss OC."  
  
"But not Sketchy and Logan?" I raise an eyebrow down at her and swing my arm around her shoulders as we resume our walk down the stairs.  
  
"Maybe Sketchy." I see her laugh a bit and realize my surprise showed. "Logan doesn't get that he doesn't belong here."  
  
I nod a bit. "He will soon enough. I have to send them with the first run in the morning."  
  
"I know." I glance at her, and realize she's telling the truth. Interesting  
  
We walk into the main room and I grab the tactical reports the X6s handed in this morning. "This is the most recent tactical we have on the perimeter."  
  
"Wouldn't 'it's a mess' cover it?" she makes a little face and I remember just how much specialization training she missed out on.  
  
I laugh. "Probably, but with this I can assign units to repair the damage and reinforce the strongholds we have without spreading too thin."  
  
"Right." she pauses. "See, this is why you're in command, and I'm just the chosen one." She looks at the assorted blueprints and notes with mass confusion written on her face.  
  
That's it. I need to know. "I need to know what it was that changed your mind about me." Her eyes betray her shock. I suppose it was pretty blunt, but still. She's done a 180 in the last twelve hours. I need to know.  
  
"I suppose you want the truth, huh?" she bites her lip.  
  
I think back to when she told me about the little mess she'd created with Logan. "We agreed no lies after...  
  
"I know." She says quickly.  
  
"So, yeah, the truth would be nice." I try to keep my voice light as I see her lean against the table.  
  
"The night Rachel died." She whispers.  
  
She must be kidding me. "That was –  
  
"Months ago. I know." She stops and glances at me. "It was that night that I realized you weren't Manticore. You weren't Ben's twin, well, okay, you're still that, but that was the first time I saw you as just that. You."  
  
I cock my head to the side. "But, after that night..." you didn't stop treating me like shit. I want to add it, but can't.  
  
"I'd already been cutting you for so long I didn't know where to stop...how to stop. And then you were in that cage again, and I forgot it was Mia's fault. I was angry."  
  
I wince as I remember the night. "You showed it."  
  
"Let me finish." She cuts of my train of thought. "I was angry, and I let that anger take over. Then, the night I told Logan we were..."  
  
"Dating?" She still can't say it out loud.  
  
"It wasn't me who said it. He saw you leaving my place after crashing there when I got you out of jail. He jumped to conclusions, and when he called me on it, all I could think was 'would it really be so bad?'. I could do worse."  
  
I meet her eyes as I start to get what she's telling me. "Could you do better?" I ask roughly, feeling like I've just stuck my neck out to a vampire.  
  
I see her shiver. "I doubt it. Once you get past that rough exterior, you really are an amazing man Alec." She whispers and I move closer to her quickly, not wanting to lose this chance.  
  
I touch her face lightly and smile. "Who would've ever guessed? Maxie finally saw the light." I notice a sparkle in her eyes that's never been there before as she leans into my hand.  
  
"No one ever said I was good at this."  
  
"And just what is this?" I need you to say it Maxie, I need it to be you who says it.  
  
She closes her eyes and I bend closer to hear her whisper. "Everything."  
  
I respond the only way I can. 


End file.
